


Age 11 - The Marauders Arrive at Hogwarts

by SevSnapelivesforever



Series: An Unexpected Outcome [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Godmother Minerva McGonagall, Hogwarts, Hogwarts First Year, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Mentor Minerva McGonagall, One Shot, Parent Albus Dumbledore, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Ravenclaw Severus Snape, Severus is a Marauder, Young James Potter, Young Remus Lupin, Young Severus Snape, Young Sirius Black
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:07:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27793585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SevSnapelivesforever/pseuds/SevSnapelivesforever
Summary: This collection of one shots is a continuation of the original story, An Unexpected Outcome.
Relationships: Albus Dumbledore & Severus Snape, James Potter & Severus Snape, Marauders & Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall & Severus Snape, Remus Lupin & Severus Snape, Sirius Black & Severus Snape
Series: An Unexpected Outcome [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921714
Comments: 14
Kudos: 74





	Age 11 - The Marauders Arrive at Hogwarts

“A thirst for knowledge and an intelligent mind,” the sorting hat mused. “Perhaps Slytherin, but I think you’ll find yourself right at home in RAVENCLAW!”

Severus grinned as he slid off the stool and handed the sorting hat back to his godmother. “Do you owe Dad a galleon now?” he whispered cheekily. 

The transfiguration professor sent him a mild glare. “It is highly unprofessional to bet on a student’s sorting, Mr. Dumbledore.” 

Raising an eyebrow with disbelief, the eleven-year-old pointedly turned his attention to the staff table. He was well aware of the bets that had been placed among the professors regarding his sorting, and sure enough, coins were exchanging hands. He grinned as his dad caught his eye and winked, subtly holding up a few galleons. “Of course, Professor McGonagall,” he smirked, trying to hold back his laughter. “My sincere apologies for such an unfounded accusation.” 

Minerva gave an affronted sniff. “Go sit down at your table, young man. And if you must know, I owe your father two galleons, not one.” 

Quietly laughing to himself, the dark-haired child made his way to the Ravenclaw table and sat down, exchanging shy smiles with his new housemates. The sorting hat had said that he would do well in Slytherin or Ravenclaw, but he was glad that it had decided to place him in the house of the eagles. He was excited to make new friends who also loved learning, and he hoped that no one would bully him just because he was the headmaster’s child. 

As the sorting continued, Severus waited eagerly to hear his friends’ names. Sirius had already been sorted into Gryffindor—causing quite the scandal for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black—but Remus and James hadn’t been called up yet. 

“Gilderoy Lockhart.”

Severus smiled welcomingly as the boy was sorted into Ravenclaw, only for his expression to abruptly morph into one of horror as an autographed photo was slid in front of him. He lifted his head to glare disdainfully at his new housemate, but somehow the idiotic boy took that as a sign to hand him a _second_ signed photo.

“No need to thank me! There’s plenty to go around,” Lockhart beamed. 

Severus gaped at him, aghast. Dear Merlin, if he had to share a room with this narcissistic dunderhead, he would drop out of Hogwarts and transfer to Beauxbatons!

“Remus Lupin,” Minerva called out. 

Sitting up straighter, Severus watched with bated breath as the sorting hat was lowered onto his friend’s head. He knew that Remus was secretly afraid that the sorting hat would reject him because he was a werewolf, but the potions prodigy was confident that they would end up in Ravenclaw together. A minute later, his prediction was proven correct when his best mate’s face broke into a beaming smile. 

“Congrats, Remus!” Severus whispered excitedly as his friend sat down beside him. 

“Thanks, Sev.”

The sorting finished soon after, with Thaddeus Nott and Peter Pettigrew going to Slytherin, and James predictably joining Gryffindor. A girl named Penelope Smith was sorted into Hufflepuff, and then finally, Ted Tonks joined the Ravenclaws. 

When all of the students were seated, the headmaster stood up and tapped his goblet for attention. “Welcome to another year at Hogwarts, my dear students! Before we begin, our caretaker Mr. Apollyon Pringle would like to remind you that dungbombs, stink pellets, and Dr. Filibuster’s Fabulous Fireworks are among the list of banned items at Hogwarts this year. For the complete list, please reference the booklet available in Mr. Pringle’s office,” he finished, his eyes twinkling. “And now, with that said, let the feast begin!”

As the impressive array of dishes appeared in front of the students, Severus happily loaded up his plate with his favorite foods, grinning at the gasps of astonishment from his peers. He was used to the welcoming feast, having attended it since he was six, but he knew that the sight was quite impressive.

“Merlin Sev, this is incredible,” Remus gaped. “I don’t even know where to start!”

Severus laughed. “I know what you mean. I’d suggest starting with steak and kidney pie, if I were you. It’s the house elves’ signature dish.”

The Great Hall soon filled with chatter as the students started eating and catching up with their friends. Severus already knew some of his housemates from Hogsmeade Primary School, but he was able to meet a few new faces including Amelia Bones, a witch who was interested in politics, and Ted Tonks, a muggleborn who wanted to be a healer. 

“Hey Sev, I think James and Sirius are trying to get our attention,” Remus noticed, nudging him.

Severus turned around, raising a questioning eyebrow at his mates. “What?” he mouthed. 

A small paper crane fluttered over to the Ravenclaw table, and Remus quickly snatched it out of the air. 

“They want to know when Peeves is coming with the glitter bombs,” he said in a hushed voice. 

The black-haired boy nodded and met James and Sirius’ eager expressions, sighing at their lack of subtlety. “At the end of the feast,” he mouthed silently. “Now stop staring at us!”

The two Gryffindors grinned in response and ducked their heads together, whispering conspiratorially. Severus rolled his eyes in exasperation. Could his idiotic friends make it any more obvious that they were planning something? 

“Think we’ll get caught, Sev?” Remus whispered nervously. 

“If we do, it’ll be because those two dunderheads wouldn’t understand the meaning of subtlety if it hit them on the heads,” he muttered darkly. “I swear, Remus, if we get caught for the first time because of those two, I'm going to slip an indigestion potion into their food and have no regrets.”

Remus nodded in agreement, an amused smile on his lips. Ever since the four boys had met in primary school, they had pulled a prank every year on the first day of school, never once getting caught. This year’s prank had taken extra planning though, given that it had to be worthy of their first day at Hogwarts. 

After weeks of brainstorming over the summer, the four young wizards—nicknamed the “Marauders” after much pleading from James and Sirius—had come up with a funny, harmless prank. Sirius and Remus had secured four glitter bombs, James had bought dungbombs as a bribe for Peeves’ silence and cooperation, and Severus had negotiated it all with Peeves. 

Their plan was simple. The four glitter bombs were each filled with the colors of a Hogwarts house. Peeves was supposed to drop the glitter bombs over the corresponding tables, covering the students in their house colors. The glitter was charmed to be spell-resistant, and any attempts at magical removal would be ineffective for a week. In return for not giving them away if asked for information by the professors, Peeves had been gifted with a case of dungbombs. 

“Hey Sev, Peeves is coming!” Remus whispered excitedly. 

Severus eagerly watched as the poltergeist came swooping into the Great Hall. His favorite moment of every prank was coming—the moment when his peers realized they’d been pranked and then hopefully started to laugh. 

Except what in Merlin’s name was Peeves doing? The poltergeist had whizzed past the house tables and was instead flying towards the—

His eyes widened in horror. 

“Please tell me that Peeves isn’t about to do what I think he is,” Remus begged. 

Severus shook his head frantically. “I told him to target only the house tables! I know I did!”

Time seemed to slow as the poltergeist cackled and dropped all four glitter bombs directly on top of the Hogwarts professors. 

Silence reigned. 

Then the Great Hall shook with the enraged roar of the Head of Gryffindor. 

“PEEVES!”

Severus could only watch in numb horror as the professors pulled out their wands to remove the glitter, only to angrily discover that their efforts were futile. His face deathly pale, he weakly met the panicked looks of his friends. 

“We are so dead,” Sirius mouthed at them. 

“As long as Peeves doesn’t squeal, there’s no proof that we were involved,” Severus whispered desperately. 

He swallowed hard as his Aunt Minerva stood up, covered head to toe in Slytherin green glitter, and glared at the headmaster—the only professor who actually seemed amused by the glitter. 

“Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore,” she raged, her voice barely above a whisper, “but I need to go have a little chat with Peeves.”

As his godmother stalked out of the Great Hall, Severus let his head fall onto the table with a loud thunk. No one could withstand the wrath of Minerva McGonagall—not even Peeves. 

Sirius was right. They were so dead.

* * *

“Never in all my years of teaching at Hogwarts have any students had the sheer _audacity_ to exclusively target their professors in a prank!” Minerva lectured irately as she paced in front of the four cowering first years. “I cannot even begin to fathom what you boys were thinking when you planned this disaster, but I can assure that such disrespect will _not_ be tolerated.”

Severus gulped, his eyes darting to his father in a desperate plea for assistance, but the wizard merely smiled in response and happily plucked another sherbet lemon from his tin. The eleven-year-old dropped his gaze back to his lap with a silent sigh. There would be no help in escaping his godmother’s wrath.

“Mr. Dumbledore!” 

Severus’ head snapped up instantly. Shite, what had he missed?! Gathering his courage, he forced himself to meet his godmother’s infamous glare. “Y-Yes, Professor?”

Minerva’s lips thinned with displeasure. “I do not like to repeat myself, Mr. Dumbledore.”

Severus cringed, mumbling an apology. 

“As I was saying,” the deputy headmistress continued, her disapproval almost palpable, “it is clear that you are the culprit who negotiated this prank with Peeves, seeing as no other students were in the castle prior to the Welcoming Feast. Therefore, you will explain to me why I am now covered in Slytherin green glitter that cannot be removed with magic,” she ordered in a clipped voice. 

The young potions prodigy swallowed hard. “It-It wasn’t meant for the staff, Professor,” he whispered, knowing that his godmother would not appreciate a familiar address at this time. 

“Oh? And who was your planned target then, if not the staff?” 

“P-Peeves was s-supposed to drop the glitter over all the house tables. I-It was just supposed to be a fun surprise,” Severus croaked past his suddenly dry throat. 

“I see,” Minerva replied after a moment of silence. “Just a fun surprise,” she repeated.

Severus inwardly shuddered. They were so screwed. 

“Well then, if you boys enjoy surprises so much, then how about this? You four will be serving detention with me every evening for the next week!” Minerva snapped. 

Severus’ jaw dropped, his mates reacting with similar dismay. A whole week of detention, just for a little prank? He looked pleadingly at his dad, only to scowl when he noticed the man’s evident amusement at the scene. Petulantly crossing his arms, he pouted unhappily. A week of detention certainly didn’t seem very amusing to him. 

Albus coughed lightly. “Professor McGonagall, if I may,” he intervened, finally appearing to take pity on the boys. “Don’t you think that a week of detention is perhaps a tad harsh? After all, the children were just causing a little bit of mischief, and no one was hurt.”

Minerva shot a dirty look at her colleague. “Perhaps you enjoy a little glitter, Professor Dumbledore, but I am not pleased to be covered in Slytherin colors that will not come off with magic. But more importantly, let’s not forget about the glitter that remains on the staff table and chairs. If we are unable to vanish the effects of the prank, then we must send a clear message to the student body that this type of behavior will not go unpunished. We do not want to set the wrong precedent, Headmaster.”

“Ah yes, that is an issue we must be sure to address,” Albus conceded, finally succeeding in adopting a stern gaze. “Removing the visible evidence of the prank would be ideal, but it would not be fair to ask the house elves for their assistance. Perhaps the boys will be able to enlighten us as to how long this glitter will last?” he prompted, surveying them with a stern look from over the top of his glasses. 

“A-A week, sir,” James bravely replied in a trembling voice. “The glitter is charmed against magical removal for a week.”

“Only magical removal, hmm? I wonder if perhaps muggle methods might work, then,” Albus mused.

A sharp, predatory smile slowly spread across the deputy headmistress’ face. “Why Headmaster,” she purred, a dangerous glint in her eyes. “What an _excellent_ idea.”

* * *

Severus quietly groaned as he rolled over and shoved his pillow on top of his head, trying to block out whoever was disturbing him from his wonderful, precious sleep. 

“I don’t think so, young man. Get up,” came his godmother’s stern voice.

“No, wanna sleep,” he whined petulantly. He let out a yelp as his ear was firmly pinched. “Ow, Aunt Minnie! Okay, I’m getting up now, promise!” 

“You have two minutes, Mr. Dumbledore, or you’ll be serving detention in your pajamas. Mr. Lupin is already up, and Messrs. Potter and Black are waiting with Mr. Filch in the Great Hall.”

Severus grumbled as he sleepily pulled on his clothes. Glancing at Remus, who was already dressed but clearly just as tired, he mumbled an incoherent greeting. At least it was only the two of them sharing a room, so it wasn’t quite as embarrassing to be dragged out of bed by his godmother at five o’clock in the morning for detention. 

“Ready, Aunt Minnie,” he yawned, his eyes still half-closed. 

“That’s Professor McGonagall to you, Mr. Dumbledore,” Minerva scolded. 

Severus nodded obediently, too tired to even roll his eyes. It was much too early to be awake, much less think.

“Come along, boys. To the Great Hall,” Minerva ordered. When neither boy moved, she sighed in exasperation and reached out to firmly grasp each child’s ear. 

“Ow, Aunt Mi— I mean, Professor! Let go!” Severus protested as the boys were tugged along. 

Unfortunately for the two Ravenclaws, the deputy headmistress had mysteriously lost her hearing, and the boys were left with no option but to either keep up with their professor’s fast pace, or let their poor ears suffer the consequences. 

As they entered the Great Hall, Severus and Remus were finally released, much to their relief. At the transfiguration professor’s gesture, they obediently lined up next to their Gryffindor accomplices, both of whom were quite literally snoring on each other’s shoulders. It was actually rather impressive, Severus thought, although he was certain that his godmother would not share the same sentiment. 

“Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, wake up,” Minerva snapped. “If you’d prefer to sleep until breakfast like your peers, then maybe next time you’ll think twice before pulling a prank and ending up in detention.” 

“Or we just won’t get caught next time,” Sirius mumbled under his breath. 

Severus inwardly groaned as he caught a glimpse of his godmother’s displeased expression. There was no way that his mate had spoken quietly enough to escape the professor’s excellent hearing, and sure enough, they were soon being lectured on respect and following the rules.

Being intimately familiar with his godmother’s lectures, Severus made sure to nod in all the right places and look contrite, subtly nudging his mates to ensure they did the same. As he’d learned at the age of six, any interruptions or arguments would only make the lecture longer.

“... and I better not hear of such blatant disregard for the rules again, is that understood?” 

“Yes, Professor,” the four boys chorused obediently. 

Minerva nodded curtly. “Very well. Now, since your prank is resistant to magical removal, you four boys will be removing the glitter through muggle means,” she explained. 

The four boys nervously gulped as a smug expression crossed the professor’s face, like a cat who had just swallowed the canary. It was not a reassuring look. 

“For a lesson to be learned,” Minerva continued, “I believe that it needs to leave a memorable impression. Therefore, you will be cleaning up the mess you created with these.”

Expecting a scrub brush, Severus barely withheld a whimper as a small, plastic toothbrush was transfigured in front of him. This was going to take _forever._ His godmother was truly an evil genius when it came to devising punishments. 

“A toothbrush? But Professor, that’s not fair!”

“Yeah, Professor. You can’t expect—”

As the Gryffindors started to complain, Severus silently sighed. He loved his friends, but sometimes they were complete dunderheads. Arguing with a professor about a punishment, especially if that professor was Minerva McGonagall, was never a smart idea.

“If you two would prefer a different implement,” Minerva interjected over her lions’ complaints, “then I would be more than happy to replace your toothbrushes with cotton buds. Shall I perform the transfiguration?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Two mouths audibly snapped shut as the Gryffindors stared at their professor in horror. 

“I thought not. Glad we could reach an understanding, boys,” Minerva smirked, not even bothering to hide her amusement at their dismayed expressions. “Now, get to work, you four. I expect the staff table and chairs to be squeaky clean by breakfast at eight sharp.”

* * *

Severus groaned as he tiredly scrubbed at a particularly stubborn patch of glitter on his godmother’s chair. It was now a quarter past six, and not even a third of the glitter was gone yet.

“We’re never going to finish in time,” James moaned quietly as he looked woefully at the worn-out bristles on his toothbrush. 

Remus nodded miserably in agreement. “We’re not even close to finishing, and breakfast is in less than two hours.”

“Say Sev, what do you think McGonagall will do to us if we don’t finish in time?” Sirius whispered. 

Severus shuddered. The last time he’d been in trouble and deliberately failed to complete his assigned task in time, his godmother had forced him to copy every page of “The History of Button Transfiguration,” a 400-page textbook that was quite possibly the most boring book in existence. It had taken him weeks to finish.

“I don’t know, Siri. Just work as quickly as you can, and hope to Merlin that she’ll have mercy on us,” he whispered back.

“Less talking and more scrubbing, boys,” Minerva reprimanded sternly. “If I see any more slacking, you’ll all be in detention until the entire Great Hall floor is shining,” she threatened. 

The room instantly fell silent as the boys quickly resumed their scrubbing with renewed effort. They were fairly certain that the Gryffindor Head wasn’t being serious, but no one was foolish enough to test her again. 

Exchanging looks of misery with his friends, Severus glumly continued scrubbing his godmother’s chair. Growing up at Hogwarts, he’d quickly learned that his Aunt Minerva was infamous among the students for her creative yet highly unpleasant punishments, and cleaning the staff table with only a toothbrush was certainly no exception. 

No one could say that her methods weren’t effective, though. For the rest of the boys’ years at Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall would never again be pranked by the Marauders. 


End file.
